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Saturday, August 20, 2011

Relief!

Deep sigh.... I have just spent the most relaxing few days that I've experienced in--I don't know how long.

My dear friend, Jenn, came to visit. Jenn and I go way back. We met at a Writer's Retreat long before Bob and I were married. How good it was to see an old friend. And to get out of the house. Lord almighty, did you know? There really is a world outside of the Pink House. Wow.

On Wednesday, Chris (and her great-grandson, Troy) sat with Bob so that Jenn and I could go out to lunch. Just getting in a car, letting someone else drive, was such a pleasure. We went to a bayside restaurant so we could look out at the water. Bob and I live only 10 minutes from the Gulf and only a few miles from the bay, but I haven't been by the waterside since Bob was in the hospital (the hospital being located on the intercoastal waterway). Such a pleasure just to sit and talk and look out upon the water.....

On Thursday, we spent the day with Bob, doing therapy, which was fun for all of us. Bob enjoyed the attention and I enjoyed the company and I think Jenn learned a thing or two about stroke therapy and also shared some "fresh eyes" advice, which I appreciated. The three of us then played Scrabble and Go Fish, a challenge for Bob. A good challenge. Heck, he won.....

And Friday, when Jenn was due to leave, she asked if I wanted to go to a local art museum with her in the morning. Chris, again, volunteered to sit with Bob, but on Friday morning Chris was not feeling well and I was quite uncomfortable leaving her, but she insisted, practically pushed us out the door, so we went to see a highly beautiful and strange exhibition of blown glass. One dark room featured a life size wooden row boat brimming with colorful glass balls. The boat floated on a glass floor, its reflection upside down underneath it. It was a breathtaking sight, so still and silent, strangely calming and weirdly intimate. Sort of a metaphor of our life right now, as I feel so often adrift since the therapists have abandoned us.....

We came back early. Bob needed meds and I was worried, too, as Chris was feeling poorly. But the minute we drove up to the house, Chris was yelling from the front porch for us "to get hell outta here and go back out!" She was feeling better, Bob was asleep, so I slipped him the medication and we went back out for a leisurely lunch at a fancy hotel resort, sitting at a table watching the tourists splashing in the hotel pool complete with a waterfall. Aaaaahh.... what a life.

Well, it's back to reality today. But I am feeling quite refreshed and up to the usual challenges. Thank you, Jenn and Chris.

3 comments:

I'm so very grateful having come to see you and Bob (boomer, zenith, and elusive ripley!). I did learn a lot, and I'm sure that's the tip of the proverbial iceberg.The broad seesaw of emotions you both go through....and your beauty, Diane, holding Bob's hand as you work through exercises for his fingers. A moving amount of deep love surrounded you. How blessed to witness this. I miss you both so much right now. Cheers to your wonderful friends Chris and Troy!Much love to allJenn

Welcome To Our Pink House

About Me

Bob and I were married 09/16/94. He is my soulmate, the love of my life. Bob is an artist and I am a writer.
On 10/20/10, Bob, following his doctor's advice, underwent a carotid endarterectomy. When I left him in ICU that night, he was fine and I thought in good hands. Two hours after my departure, a nurse noted on his chart that Bob's speech was slurred and his right arm was paralyzed. The nurse did not call a doctor. Later that night, the nurse noted that Bob could not move his right arm or leg, still a doctor was not called. The next morning, the nurse noted that he was paralyzed on the right side, a "12" on the Glasgow Coma Scale, disoriented and confused, but no doctor was informed. I arrived at 9:00 a.m. and immediately called for the doctor. He was rushed to surgery. It was 12 hours too late. The CAT scan showed 2/3 of his brain had been damaged. I was told he would not survive. Somehow, he did.
Bob was discharged from the hospital on 12/31/10 and, although the hospital wanted him sent to a nursing home, I brought him home instead. This is the story of our journey since that day. This is also a love story.
(Bob passed away 5/28/15 and I am trying to survive....)